18-Day Impression China Tour
Tibet Local Time：16:46:57 GMT+8
Lhasa Weather
Office Hour: 09:00am - 06:00pm, (GMT+8)
Call our professional Tibet tour advisors
+86-23-86915020
Office Hour: 09:00am - 06:00pm, (GMT+8)
Call our professional Tibet tour advisors
+86-23-86915020
We are sincerely waiting for your arrival at Beijing airport; our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure. You may take optional go-out for walk along Shishahai Lake.
Today’s activity you will visit Tian'anmen Square, The Forbidden City, Hutongs by rickshaw. Lunch will be served in one of the local people's home during the tour, when you can learn how to make dumplings, after visit catch the Qinghai-Tibet railway to Lhasa.
-The Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) Square: the largest city square in the world and the spiritual heart of China, where the national flag is raised exactly at sunrise everyday.
-The Forbidden City: located in the center of Beijing, used to be the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties with a history of around 600 years, it is the grandest integral palace complex still remaining in China.
-Hutong by rickshaw: Hutongs: the old narrow paths with lots of courtyard homes where common people are living, they are like villages within megalopolis, through the hutongs' teeming maze of alleyways, and you will see the old houses and learn about the daily life of ordinary Beijing citizens.
A novel experience with the Qinghai-Tibet railway, the glacier, lakes, flock of sheep, Snow Mountains, meadow, Tangula etc will be emerged on the way.
Upon your arrival at train station this afternoon, you will be met by your local guide and transferred to the hotel in Lhasa city (2-hour drive). After checking in the hotel, rest in the afternoon to get adapted to the high altitude.
-Lhasa: the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region with an elevation of 3650 meters (12,000 feet) above the sea level, nicknamed Sunlight City, it is the highest city in the world. This ancient sprawling city, settled 1,300 years ago, is the region's political, economic and cultural center as well as a sacred place of Tibetan Buddhism.
Today’s activities will include the Lhasa’s cardinal landmark -- Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and flourishing Barkhor Street.
-The Potala Palace: the symbol of Lhasa, perched upon Marpo Ri Hill, 130 meters above the Lhasa Valley, it is the greatest monumental structure in Tibet and one of the most famous architectural works of the world. The construction of it was started in 641 AD and was rebuilt by the Fifth Dalai Lama in three years, while the Thirteenth Dalai Lama extended and repaired it into what it is now. As the religious and political centre of old Tibet and the winter residence of Dalai Lamas, the palace witnessed the life of the Dalai Lamas and the important political and religious activities in the past centuries.
Potala Palace also houses great amounts of rare cultural relics including the gold hand-written Buddhist scriptures, valuable gifts from the Chinese emperors and a lot of priceless antiques.
-The Jokhang Temple: located in the center of the old section of Lhasa, built in 647 AD by Songtsen Gampo and his two foreign wives, and later extended by successive rulers, it has now become a gigantic architectural complex and it is the spiritual center of Tibet.
-The Barkhor Street: a circular street around the Jokhang Temple in the center of the old section of Lhasa, it is the oldest street in a very traditional style in Tibet, where you can enjoy bargaining with the local Tibetan vendors for the handicrafts which are rare to be seen elsewhere in the world.
Barkhor Street is one of the most important religious paths along which pilgrims walk around Jokhang Temple while turning prayer wheels in their hands through centuries. Buddhist pilgrims walk or progress by body-lengths along the street clockwise every day into deep night.
Today, we will drive to Lake Namtso where you can spare some time to trekking on the lakeside to enjoy the natural beauty, Sunset at nightfall or starry sky at night, or Overnight at Damxung County.
-Lake Namtso: located 60km northwest of Damxung County, with 4,718 meters above the sea level, the highest lake and the biggest salt water lake in the world, it is one of the three holy lakes in Tibet and receives high respects among the local people.
On this day, drive back to Lhasa. After a rest in Lhasa, we will pay a visit to a Tibetan Family.
-The Tibetan Family: where you will be greeted and warmly welcomed by common Tibetan people in their traditional way and entertained with their typical food.
Free in the day until our local guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to Chengdu. Today’s activities in Chengdu with Jili Old Street, and Wenshu Temple where you can spend some time sitting in its tea house to enjoy a cup of tea and absorb the special atmosphere of Chengdu. In the evening you will enjoy a delicious dinner of local Sichuan food.
-Chengdu: centrally located in the western Sichuan Plain, the capital of Sichuan Province, Chengdu has a history of over 2300 years. It is renowned for its fertile land and agricultural wealth, which have earned the city the nickname “Storehouse of Heaven”.
-Jinli Old Street: located in Chengdu combines the ambience of ancient and modern China. Jinli Old Street was constructed in 2004 in the traditional architectural style of Sichuan Province during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Jinli Old Street is not only a wonderful reminder China’s past, but also a great place for people to fully appreciate Sichuan’s customs, and folk arts.
-Wenshu Temple: Chengdu's oldest and largest Buddhist temple was originally built in Tang Dynasty. It was rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty and features exquisite relief carvings. You can absorb the very atmosphere of Chengdu here: the temple is full of local worshippers burning incense. The tea house at the back of the complex is a great place to relax yourself and do some people watching, while the streets outside are filled with blind fortune-tellers, hawkers selling incense, paper money and statues.
Flight to Lijiang, upon your arrival in Lijiang, our tour guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. For the rest of the day you will be free to step out in the fascinating city of Lijiang for a small adventure on your own.
On this day you will be driven to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. After, you will visit the ancient Baisha Mural Paintings. Later you will visit the Black Dragon Pool Park and the Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture located inside the park.
-The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain: it is so called because it looks like a flying jade dragon from afar. The mountain consists of 13 peaks and sprawls 35 km from north to south, its glacier is the modern oceanic glacier closest to the equator in the Northern Hemisphere. By taking the cable car up to certain height, you can enjoy the expansive mountains views and snowy scenery.
-The Baisha Mural Paintings: located in Baisha Township, 8km north of Lijiang, there are altogether 53 groups of mural paintings in different temples with fine and smooth lines, bright colors, vivid pattern and harmonious composition. Painted from the early days of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911),these mural paintings are an artistic representation of the different religious cultures such as Buddhism, Lamaism, Daoism and the Naxi Dongba religion.
-Black Dragon Pool Park: where you can see the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain from afar and the reflection of the mountain in the pool in a clear day, this park is the source of the water system of the Old Lijiang Town as the clean spring from Jade Dragon Snow Mountain gathers here.
-Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture: where you will see the exhibitions of Naxi culture and dress, Dongba script, information on Lijiang's old town and so on.
Transfer to airport f or flight to Kunming, and then you will pay a visit to Kunming's famous Stone Forest, a bizarre rock formation created over millennia of rain and weather.
-Stone Forest (Shilin): a 270-million-year-old limestone karst formation of tightly bundled gray rocky outcrops, a natural wonder acknowledged as "World Karst Landscape Museum", the Stone Forest shows a variety of unique shapes such as sword, mushrooms, tower, pillar, castle representing the greatest miracle that the nature can present to human beings.
This morning you will be transferred to airport for flight to Guilin, upon your arrival in Guilin, and then pay a visit to Elephant Trunk Hill and Reed Flute Cave.
-Elephant Trunk Hill: the symbol of Guilin, which resembles a giant elephant drinking water from the Li River.
-Reed Flute Cave: 5 kilometers away from the city center, famed as “A Natural Palace of Art”, in which you can see lots of stalactites & stalagmites illuminated by the lights of different colors and learn how they were formed.
After breakfast, you will be driven to Zhujiang Pier (40-minute drive) to start your boat cruise down the picturesque Li River, which is the highlight of any visit to Guilin, until you get to Yangshuo County. Along the river, you will be inspired by breathtaking views of peaks and pinnacles, crystal-clear water and picturesque pastoral views of rice paddies and water buffaloes. Visitors feel they have stepped into a traditional Chinese painting. After checking into your hotel, you will be free to explore Yangshuo and its famous West Street.
-Yangshuo County: founded in 590 AD, Yangshuo County has been booming because of tourism. With so many beautiful mountains surrounding, it is described as “the world of green lotus and jade bamboo shoots”.
Today, you will be driven back to Guilin (1.5-hour drive),take flight to Shanghai, upon you arrival in Shanghai, the rest of the day is free on your own.
On this day, your tour will include: the Bund and the famous Nanjing Road, M50 Artist Community, Shanghai World Financial Center where you will take the elevator to its 100th floor to enjoy the bird's eye view of Shanghai.
On this day, you will visit TianZiFang, Stone Gate in Xintiandi Plaza.
-TianZiFang: on the Lane 210 of Taikang Road with many old Shanghai style buildings, such as Shikumen, converted from a cluster of factory workshops, warehouse and resident al houses, this place is another SOHO for local and international artists, most of whom are in the designing industry. Visitors can find a variety of shops that feature products designed by young talented artists, ranging from clothes, accessories to jewelry and souvenirs. And there are many nice cafes, bars and restaurants as well.
-Stone Gate: the most typical Shanghai style house, it originates from the European style architecture with the combination of local cultural elements. This building style got very popular since 1920s. Nowadays, there are still around 40% Shanghainess living in these houses.
Today’s activities , you will visit Yu Garden and the Yuyuan Market, and then pay a visit to Caoyang Residential Area where you will visit one local family, go to buy food for cooking then enjoy lunch together with family.
-Yu Garden: located in the Old Town of Shanghai and laid out in 1559 AD by a powerful Ming official, Yu Garden recreates a beautiful landscape of pagodas, pavilions, rockeries, fountains, ancient trees and precious flowers.
-Yuyuan Market: Outside the Yu Garden, a bustling market with different snacks and trinkets.
-Caoyang Residential Area: the first residential area established in 1952 for workers in China after the founding of P.R.C., within nearly 40-year development, now it boosts with 718 buildings and 110,000 inhabitants, and also the other facilities such as: hostiptals, schools, libraries, shops and different units. The inhabitants nowadays are not only workers, but also teachers, doctors, authors and so on.
On this day you will be free until your local guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to your sweet home.
